Coach Spotlight: Aki Wolfson

In 1976, Brad Parks and Jeff Minnebraker developed the idea for wheelchair tennis; Parks had been paralyzed in a freeskiing accident and dreamed up the concept while recovering in the hospital. What started as a game Parks and Minnebraker devised on local courts across the street from a medical facility has now become one of the biggest sports in the world for people with disabilities. Wheelchair tennis debuted at the Paralympic Games in Seoul in 1988, has its own professional tour and today is a part of all four Grand Slam tournaments.

To commemorate 50 years of the game, we spoke with Aki Wolfson, one of the most prominent wheelchair tennis coaches in New York. Wolfson—who serves as the director of tennis and programming at the Commonpoint Tennis & Athletic Center in Queens—talks to us about first getting involved in the sport and how it has ultimately transformed her life and worldview.

You probably have had so many transformative experiences working with athletes in this discipline. Is there one you can share that really affirmed your commitment to continue coaching?

WOLFSON: One story that will stay with me forever is that of a young college tennis player who had a promising career ahead of him. A freak accident left him quadriplegic, and he fell into a profound depression. I think he believed his life as an athlete was over. His coach at the time heard about wheelchair tennis and reached out to me for an introduction. We met at the US Open, but I could tell immediately that he wasn’t ready to hear anything I had to say. Before leaving, I told him, “Whenever you’re ready, come out to one of our clinics. I can guarantee you will play tennis again.”

Two years later, he showed up to my class in a motorized chair. He explained that he was right‑handed but could no longer hold the racquet, and that he would have to relearn everything as a lefty. I told him we could do even better. We taped the racquet to his right hand and got him into a manual chair. With just a few adjustments, he realized he could play again. The look on his face said everything. That same year, he entered our tournament and played incredibly well. His parents were in tears because it was the first time they had seen him smile since the accident. He eventually went on to earn a high ranking in the Quad division and built an entire new chapter of his life through the sport. Watching him transform from hopeless to hopeful and then to successful was one of the most rewarding moments of my career. It reaffirmed everything I believe about tennis, about adaptive sports and about the resilience of the human spirit.

One of your more recent prominent students was Max Wong, who was part of the US contingent that won the junior world cup title in 2024. How would you characterize your coaching journey with Max? 

WOLFSON: Coaching Max has been one of the most meaningful experiences of my career. I remember him starting tennis around ten years old, and he never let being in a wheelchair stop him from being a kid. In fact, he was just like any other energetic ten‑year‑old picking up a racquet for the first time. He would blast the ball as hard as he could and laugh his way through it! Watching him grow from a young beginner into a world‑class junior athlete and now a college player has been an incredible privilege.

Since 2001, you have also served as the tournament director for the Jana Hunsaker Memorial Wheelchair Tennis Tournament, which is based here in New York. What do you enjoy about wearing the tournament director hat for a wheelchair tennis competition?

WOLFSON: What I enjoy most about that is how deeply connected the event is to its history, its players and the community it brings together. When Jana was running the tournament, I watched it grow from a sectional event to a regional competition that drew players from all over the United States. The year she passed away, the tournament was scheduled to become an ITF event, which meant it would welcome athletes from around the world. As time went on, the event grew from 45 players to a record 86 competitors, with athletes traveling from places as far as Australia, Japan and Hawaii. Seeing that growth was incredibly rewarding. It’s become more than a tournament. It’s a reunion, a celebration of wheelchair tennis and a way to carry forward Jana’s legacy year after year. It’s a privilege to help keep that tradition alive.